On May 1, 1941, a film premiered at the RKO Palace Theater in New York City. It generated so much controversy months before its release that theaters refused to show it. Today, it is praised by the American Film Institute as the greatest movie of all time. This film is Citizen Kane.

Citizen Kane follows the trail of news reporters who delve into the life and death of Charles Foster Kane (played by writer, producer and director Orson Welles) as everyone tries to uncover the meaning of the man’s final word: rosebud. A quasi-biographical film, Citizen Kane exemplifies many of the same elements and aspect of Orson Welles’ real life.

Welles was not a complete unknown by the time production on Citizen Kane began. At the age of 24, he found fortune in both the theatre and the radio business. His live broadcast of ‘The War of the Worlds’ was so well-performed that listeners truly thought America was under attack by aliens. As Welles’ first feature film, Citizen Kane was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. When the film premiered in 1941, it was received terribly among audiences. At the Academy Awards, Welles was literally booed at, according to the History Channel. So how did such a hated film grow into one of the most revered classics in film history?

Students of Florida State University weigh in their thoughts.

The Student Life Cinema is famous for screening everything from blockbuster hits, alternative flicks and classics. In the past, it has screened timeless classical pieces, such as My Dinner with Andre, Schindler’s List and even Creature from the Black Lagoon.Citizen Kane will be screened on 33mm film this Wednesday by the Student Life Cinema, much to the excitement of film fans all around the area.

“Without getting into technical details, the film basically invented the modern film style,” said Digital Media Production student, Hunter Black, “Welles got really experimental with Citizen Kane in cinematography, editing and narrative pacing.”

Citizen Kane was known as being a pioneer that influenced visual storytelling as we recognize it today. Welles took influence from German films of the 1920s, such as chiaroscuro lighting and deep-focus cinematography. Filmmaking styles aside, Citizen Kane takes traditional storytelling, the typical three-act structure, and molds it into something different. The story is told mostly out of order with the use of flashbacks from multiple narrators. This style was unheard of at that day and age. A lot of the story is simply told through visuals. As every great filmmaker knows, ‘show, don’t tell.’

“Whenever Kane is a young man and close to the camera, he towers over it and seems larger than life,” recounts Black. “Later, we see him at Xanadu, his mansion. Lots of wide shots, showing how incredibly large and ornate his mansion is, but how depressingly empty it is too.”

Being such a pioneer of the modern filmmaking style, it is easy to see why Citizen Kane is praised as being one of the most important films ever made. Its legacy lives on through the blood of new filmmakers inspired by Welles’ work, some of them close to home.

Digital Media Production student, Aaron Kudja is the projectionist at the Student Life Cinema. Kudja has been in love with film throughout his entire life so far. As the projectionist, it is his job to screen every film at the Student Life Cinema and handle delicate film strips. He reveres Citizen Kane as a symbol of every film student’s dream: to become immortal within a film reel.

Citizen Kane is a movie from a young punk much like us in university,” Kudja said. “It's got flash, style and the heart of stagecraft woven into a story delivered through unconventional means.”

Citizen Kane’s meaning lies within the dream of creating art that everyone will remember. That dream will live on through every student and every young adult as they constantly innovate, create and experiment. Citizen Kane is a pioneer, one that dares all of us to find our rosebud.